Coin and letter holder for rural mail-boxes.



A. H. GRIFFIN & W. A. KIRKSEY.

00m AND LETTER HOLDER FOR RURAL MAIL BOXES.

APPLICATION FIL ED JUNE 15, 1909. 1

Patented Mar. 22, 1910.

a, lmwntovs '7 4 I/Witness tantra eras ATET er ALVAH H. GRIFFIN ANDWALTER A. KIRKSEY, OF LINCOLN, ALABAMA.

COIN AND LETTER HOLDER FOR RURAL MAIL-BOXES.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALVAI-I H. GRIFFIN and lVALTER A. KIRKSEY, citizensof the United States, residing at Lincoln, in the county of Talladegaand State of Alabama, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Coin and Letter Holders for Rural Mail-Boxes, of which the followingis a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention is a device for holding coins, stamps and letters andadapted for use in rural free delivery mail boxes.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple and practical deviceof this character which is so constructed that it may be readily pickedup by the mail carrier, thereby enabling him to simultaneously removethe letters and money from the box and obviating the necessity ofpicking each piece up separately.

\Vith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of thenovel features of construction and the combination and arrangement ofparts hereinafter fully described and claimed and illustrated in theaccon'ipanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of theimproved coin and letter holder; Fig. 2 is a vertical section throughthe same; and Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view.

The invention comprises a body 1 which has a receptacle 2 in whichcoins, or other money, may be placed and an enlarged base portion 3provided with a spring clip 4 be neath which letters may be held. Thebody 1 may be made of any material and of any size and shape but it ispreferably made of metal and of such size as to be placed in theordinary rural delivery mail box. In shape it preferably resembles agoblet or cup and the receptacle 2 is disposed at its top and connectedto the large base 3 by a reduced portion or neck '3. The receptacle 2with the reduced portion or neck 5 beneath the same provides aconvenient means to enable the holder to be readily picked up andinverted to remove the contents of the receptacle 2 and also to removethe letters or the mail matter from beneath the clip 4-. In picking upthe device or holder, the palm of the hand is placed over the open topof the receptacle 2 so that when the device is inverted the coins insaid holder will drop into the hand and the letters under the springclip may be easily removed by the Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 15, 1909.

Patented ltllar. 22, 1910. Serial No. 502,387.

other hand. The enlarged base 3 provides a substantial support toprevent the holder from tilting over when in the mail box and it alsoenables a number of letters to be held beneath the several portions ofthe spring at.

The spring clip a is preferably form-ed from a single piece of resilientwire bent back and forward upon itself to provide several oppositelyprojecting spring loops 6 and its ends are bent against the bottom edgeof the base 3 and may be secured thereto by rolling said bottom edge ofthe base over the ends of the wire as shown at- 7 or in any othersuitable manner. As illustrated in Fig. 3, said wire is bent upon itselfat its center to provide a central loop which projects beyond the edgeof the enlarged base 3, and it is also bent to provide two side loops.By providing several spring loops or arms 6 it will be seen that aplurality of letters may be held beneath the clip.

A bottom 8 for the receptacle 2 may be placed at any point within thebody 1 so that said receptacle may be shallow or deep as may be desired.

In using the invention the owner of the mail box places any letterswhich he desires to be collected beneath the clip on the base of thedevice and, if he desires to purchase stamps, he places the money forthe same in the coin receptacle 2. hen the mail carrier reaches the boxlie-merely picks up the holder by the receptacle 2 and inverts it toremove the coins from the receptacle 2 and the letters from beneath theclip 4.

The use of the device, it will be seen, obviates the necessity of thecarrier picking each letter or coin up separately from the bottom of thebox which is very troublesome especially in cold weather when thecarrier wears gloves.

The use of the device precludes the possibility of letters, cards,coins, etc, sticking close to the bottom or sides of the box and beingleft there by the carrier.

It will be noted that the device is simple in construction so that itmay be made at a small cost and will be strong and durable in use.

Vhile the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed in detail, it will be seen that various changes in form.proportion and arrangement of parts and in the details of constructionmay be resorted to Within the spirit and scope of the invention. 7

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed is:

1. A device of the character described comprising a body having at itstop a cupshaped coin receptacle, at its bottom an enlarged circularsheet metal base, and intermediate its top and bottom a reducedconnecting portion uniting said receptacle and base, and a spring clipformed from a single piece of Wire bent upon itself at its center toprovide a central loop to project beyond one edge of said base, saidWire being further bent to provide side loops and having its extremitiescurved longitudinally, the edge of said enlarged base being bent aroundsaid-curved extremities of the Wire to unite the clip to the base.

2. A device of the character described comprising a body memberconstructed of sheet metal and having an enlarged circular base, and aspring clip formed from a single piece of Wire bent upon itself at itscenter to provide a central loop to project beyond one edge of saidbase, said Wire being further bent to provide side loops and having itsextremities curved longitudinally, the edge of the enlarged base portionof the body member being bent around said curved extremities of the Wireto unite the clip to said base.

In testimony whereof We hereunto ZlffiX our signatures in the presenceof tWo Witnesses.

ALVAH H. GRIFFIN.

WVALTER A. KIRKSEY.

Witnesses:

WV. T. CASTLEBERG, J. C. KoLLINesWoR'rH.

